Systems and methods for enterprise branded application frameworks for mobile and other environments

ABSTRACT

An application framework for mobile devices may provide a variety of application modules directed towards enterprise brand extension. The application modules are organized into five main categories: (1) featured, (2) community, (3) play/engage, (4) media, and (5) shop. The “featured” category may allow enterprises to push specific content onto its consumers. The “community” category may allow enterprises to leverage social networks and consumer communities that build and expand around their brands. The “play/engage” category may allow enterprises to offer compelling value and engaging utility to its customers. The “media” category may allow enterprises to entertain, inform, and educate consumers about brands through media content. The “shop” category may allow enterprises to facilitate electronic commerce with its customers. Further application analytics may be utilized by aggregating affiliate, sales, or usage data, etc. to better drive new revenue streams and optimize the return on investment associated with sales, promotion and advertising efforts.

CROSS-REFERENCE

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/336,960, filed Jul. 21, 2014, which is acontinuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/033,526,filed Feb. 23, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,788,358, which claims priorityto U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/308,284, filed Feb. 25,2010, each of which is entirely incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Enterprises are often searching for new and innovative ways to marketthemselves to consumers and face many challenges in today's mobilemarketplace. It can be difficult for enterprises (companies,universities, charities, musicians, media properties, etc.) to captureconsumer attention. It is also often difficult for enterprises toseparate and distinguish their own brands from the underlying noise ofthe marketplace.

Today's mobile consumers are inundated with dozens of handset andplatform options. Enterprises are faced with the difficulty of creatingapplications that promote and extend their brand and trademarks on thevarious platform options that are chosen by consumers. Creating anapplication on each of these platforms can be an expensive process with,often, ineffective results.

What is needed is an application framework that can be utilized byenterprises (companies, universities, charities, musicians, mediaproperties, etc.) to market and promote their brand.

SUMMARY

The invention provides systems and methods for an enterprise brandedapplication framework. Various aspects of the invention described hereinmay be applied to any of the particular applications set forth below.The invention may be applied as a standalone system or as a component ofan integrated software solution for programmable devices and theirframeworks. The invention can be optionally integrated into existingbusiness and processes seamlessly. It shall be understood that differentaspects of the invention can be appreciated individually, collectivelyor in combination with each other.

In one aspect of the invention, a system for creating a mobileapplication framework for brand extension is provided. The systemincludes an interface to a network and a resource for organizingbranding content provided by a developer to create the mobileapplication framework. The mobile application framework includes anavigation menu for accessing a plurality of pre-defined categories ofbranding features and submenus for providing access to specificfunctions within the pre-defined categories, and the pre-definedcategories are assigned for brand extension depending on a targetedindustry segment.

Other goals and advantages of the invention will be further appreciatedand understood when considered in conjunction with the followingdescription and accompanying drawings. While the following descriptionmay contain specific details describing particular embodiments of theinvention, this should not be construed as limitations to the scope ofthe invention but rather as an exemplification of a preferredembodiment. For each aspect of the invention, many variations arepossible as suggested herein that are known to those of ordinary skillin the art. A variety of changes and modifications can be made withinthe scope of the invention without departing from the spirit thereof.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

All publications, patents, and patent applications mentioned in thisspecification are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent asif each individual publication, patent, or patent application wasspecifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The novel features of the invention are set forth with particularity inthe appended claims. A better understanding of the features andadvantages of the present invention will be obtained by reference to thefollowing detailed description that sets forth illustrative embodiments,in which the principles of the invention are utilized, and theaccompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of the structure for enterprise brandedmobile environments (or application framework), in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of how the mobile infrastructure platform(application framework) may be accessed on a mobile device, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a mobile infrastructure platform(application framework) that is branded for a television show, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a mobile infrastructure platform (orapplication framework) that is branded for a golfing organization, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a mobile infrastructure platform (orapplication framework) that is branded for a university or college, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a mobile device user's interaction withthe mobile infrastructure platform (or application framework), inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates how application analytics, such as mobile analytics,are utilized by the enterprise branded applications in order forenterprises to better drive new revenue streams and better optimize thereturn on investment associated with mobile sales, marketing, promotionand advertising efforts.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example where an application framework may beleveraged to provide a conduit for consumer participation in a socialnetwork, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a framework that may be implemented ona variety of programmable devices, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention.However it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art thatthe invention may be practiced without these specific details. In otherinstances, well-known methods, procedures, components and circuits havenot been described in detail so as not to obscure the invention. Variousmodifications to the described embodiments will be apparent to thosewith skill in the art, and the general principles defined herein may beapplied to other embodiments. The invention is not intended to belimited to the particular embodiments shown and described.

Embodiments of the invention provide enterprise branded mobileapplication infrastructures and frameworks equipped for navigating thecomplexities and challenges inherent in any branded entity's centricmobile initiatives, charting a roadmap and course for success incapturing consumer “screen share” and separating enterprise brands fromthe underlying noise of today's mobile marketplace. With dozens ofhandset and platform options and seemingly infinite ways to engagemobile consumers, embodiments of the present invention provideorganizations of all types and sizes a proven mobile applicationinfrastructure or framework that can be leveraged, trusted and dependedon for commercial performance and measurable results.

Companies consistently struggle to engage and maintain excited, loyaland passionate consumer bases for their brands. Meanwhile, consumers areincreasingly mobile, distracted and lack meaningful attention spans toemotionally invest in enterprise brand initiatives. An innovativeenterprise branded mobile application framework may solve this problem.By providing consumers functional, engaging and entertaining mobileapplications, enterprises can leverage these high value, “always on” and“always accessible” mobile touch points to encourage deeper and broaderemotional investments in their enterprise brands and initiatives. Inaddition to the obvious benefits of pure brand extension, theinfrastructure may provide multiple revenue alternatives, thustransitioning cost centers into profit centers with measurable real-timereturn-on-investment, data and feedback.

Referring to FIG. 1, an example of the structure for enterprise brandedmobile environments (or application framework) is provided. Mobiledevices 101 may communicate with a mobile infrastructure platform 102.The mobile infrastructure platform may provide a variety of mobileapplication modules. The mobile application modules may be organizedinto five main categories: (1) featured, (2) community, (3) play/engage,(4) media, and (5) shop. The “Featured” category 103 may allowenterprises to “push” specific content directly to its consumers basedupon specific enterprise sales and marketing initiatives. The“Community” category 104 may allow enterprises to leverage the socialnetworks and consumer communities that build and expand around theirbrands. The “Play/Engage” category 105 may allow enterprises to offercompelling value and engaging utility to its consumers. The “Media”category 106 may allow enterprises to entertain, inform and educate itsconsumers about their brands through videos, photos, audio podcasts andother mediums. The “Shop” category 107 may allow enterprises tofacilitate mobile commerce with their consumers, whether digital orphysical in nature. Thus, a mobile environment may be provided forextending enterprise brands.

To elaborate, within a “Featured” category 103, the platform may provideaccess to or notification of “what's new,” “what's hot,” “what's now,”or “what's featured” including recently released headlines, news,announcements, schedules, promotions, merchandise specials, coupons,videos of interest, photos of interest, provide notifications, etc.Users may be able to take this information and publish it to theirTwitter or Facebook or other social networks. Further, users may sort,filter and search the content provided. Thus, in this manner, anenterprise may notify users of certain content which may be of interestto its users.

Within a “Community” category 104, the platform may provide access toblogs, social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Linkedin,Twitter, forums, chat interfaces, or message boards, etc. allowing itsusers to participate in a social way through the framework. Further, the“Community” function may provide an aggregation of social networking andblog feeds of various social networks of the user. The user may alsotake this information and publish it to their existing social networks,or post responses to the enterprise's Facebook page for example as afan. The user may also sort, filter and search the content provided.Further, for example, users may provide profile content (or profilecontent may be accessed through various social networks of the user),users may upload photos, send and receive messages, access otherconnections or friends, etc. In addition, the framework could provide amechanism in which an enterprise could entice customers to participatein a brand message within a social network (as described further belowwith respect to FIG. 8).

As part of the “Play/Engage” category 105, the platform (or applicationframework) may provide interactive, engaging, fun games or useful,unique, timely, and industry-specific utilities. Users may be able toplay games against other users or individually through the platform(application framework) for entertainment or educational purposes. Thegames may be puzzles, trivia, or interactive games with microtransactions embedded, for example. The utilities may be scorecards fora sports-based enterprise, maps and wait-times for a theme parkenterprise, etc., all of which may or may not include micro transactioncapabilities.

As part of the “Media” category 106, the application framework(platform) may provide videos, video highlights, video trailers,previews, audio clips, podcasts, streaming archives, promos, photos,access to online databases or depositories of such content (such asYouTube videos), etc. Other content may include out-takes, top ten videolists, tutorials, bloopers, shows, video archives and any other photo orvideo content. A user may also sort, filter and search through thecontent provided or share it via email or social networks such asFacebook and/or Twitter.

Within a “Shop” or “Mobile Commerce” category 107, the platform(application framework) may provide an environment where users maypurchase products, services, promotions, specials, listing, whetherdigital or physical in nature. The users may purchase such items throughsubscriptions or pay-per-view or through a variety of means, all fromtheir mobile devices 101. The “Shop” may act as a storefront for productand service sales and may provide users with the ability for renewingsubscriptions or even providing donations, depending on the brand orenterprise involved. The environment may also include mobile analytics,as discussed further below.

Referring to FIG. 2, an example of how the mobile infrastructureplatform (application framework) may be accessed on a mobile device isshown. Many applications are available on mobile device 200. The mobileinfrastructure platform (application framework) 201 may be accessed onthe mobile device through an application on the mobile device as shownin FIG. 2. Thus, the mobile application is structured as a package forbrand extension. The mobile application may include a navigation menufor accessing a plurality of pre-defined categories of branding featuresand submenus for providing access to specific functions within thepre-defined categories. The pre-defined categories may be determineddepending on the targeted industry or targeted users. Thus, thedeveloper may create the package based on what brand is being promotedas well as the target audience. The platform (application framework) 201may then provide access to the pre-packaged features within the package.

Referring to FIG. 3, an example of a mobile infrastructure platform(application framework) that is branded for a television show is shown.The mobile infrastructure platform (application framework) for thetelevision show may include featured content 301 such as news, events,schedule or sweepstakes associated with the television show. Within theplatform (application framework), community related elements 302 mayalso be accessed, including social media relating to the show, forums ontopics related to the show, or blogs from users who have written aboutthe show. Users accessing the platform (application framework) may alsoplay games 303 relating to the show. For example, if the platform(application framework) is for a particular television show, users mayplay games related or created for that show. There may also be media 304available for users to view including highlights of certain episodes,out-takes from filming, top ten lists, or behind the scenes content. Ina store 305, users may purchase DVDs and books, toys and games, fangear, or other related merchandise including digital copies ofindividual show episodes and/or full seasons. A navigation menu 306 mayenable users to navigate through all of these various features andcontent via their mobile devices.

Referring to FIG. 4, an example of a mobile infrastructure platform (orapplication framework) that is branded for a golfing organization isshown. The mobile infrastructure platform for the golfing organizationmay include featured products 401 or information about those products.Within the platform, other content such as recently played courses, orthe ability to search for a course by location 402 may be provided. Theplatform may include media such as tutorial videos 403, which mayprovide tips on play. The platform may also allow users to shop forequipment or accessories 404. A navigation menu 405 may enable users tonavigate through all of these various features and content via theirmobile devices.

Referring to FIG. 5, an example of a mobile infrastructure platform (orapplication framework) that is branded for a university or college isshown. The mobile infrastructure platform for the college or universitymay include featured information 501 such as news, events, calendars,merchandise or information which is being highlighted by the college oruniversity. The featured content may also include headlines 501 ofuniversity news, for example. As shown in FIG. 5, the platform may alsoprovide athletic information 502—providing users access to variousinformation relating to the school's athletic teams or performance ofthose teams, as well as the ability to purchase tickets or merchandise.A platform may also provide an alumni center 503, for example, whichcould allow access to news relating to alumni, or could provide a portalfor donations to be made by alumni, or access to an alumni directory orother information. There could also be campus related tools 504available such as directories, maps, dining information, etc. A campusstore 505 may also be accessed through the platform, allowing users topurchase merchandise, view sales and specials, purchase tickets toathletic events, or access other information. A navigation menu 506 mayenable users to navigate through all of these various features andcontent via their mobile devices.

Various other possibilities for brand extension are possible throughmobile infrastructure platforms (or application frameworks) inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention. For example, themobile infrastructure platform may be customized for a celebrity brand,such as for a famous band. For a band, the platform could includeproviding access to featured content relating to the band, toinformation relating to the band's history, or to other information.Media such as photos, songs, recordings, albums, live recordings, recorddownloads, music videos, etc. may be downloaded or streamed through theplatform. The platform may include tour information for upcoming showsand may include a map of the tour, for example. Users may also purchasemusic or merchandise and other accessories via the platform from theirmobile devices.

Referring to FIG. 6, an example of a mobile device user's interactionwith the mobile infrastructure platform (or application framework) isshown. The mobile device user 600 accesses the mobile infrastructureplatform 601 through a mobile device 602 over a network such as theInternet 603. The mobile infrastructure platform 601 may be coupled to aserver and a database 604. The various functions and content 605-610 areaccessible within the mobile infrastructure platform 601.

Referring to FIG. 7, application analytics, such as mobile analytics,are also utilized by the enterprise branded applications in order forenterprises to better drive new revenue streams and better optimize thereturn on investment associated with mobile sales, marketing, promotionand advertising efforts. Analytics may aggregate both quantitative andqualitative statistics for customers so that they can leverage “globalreal-time focus groups” through the enterprise branded applications. Theanalytics may aggregate various types of data including affiliate data701, application sales data 702, application usage data 703, and webtroll data 704 to provide meaningful information to its customers 706.More specifically, the application analytics may include networkredirect summaries of where customers come from globally to anapplication purchasing interface to download enterprise brandedapplications. For example, the application analytics may includeLinkShare summaries of where customers come from globally to iTunes todownload enterprise branded applications. The application analytics mayalso include download statistics on the number of downloads and price ofdownloads achieved through iTunes or some other application purchasinginterface. In addition, the application analytics may include real-time,in-application user and usage statistics by application, including thetotal number of times that the application was opened, the average timespent in the application, the navigation patterns within theapplication, the content consumed in the application, the number oftimes consumers balk at in-application transactions, the usage splitbetween online and offline usage, data regarding wi-fi network usage,and 3G network usage, etc. Further, the mobile analytics may includeInternet centric ratings, reviews and discussions about enterprisebranded application usage worldwide.

For example, a branded mobile application framework for an animal healthinformational website may include analytics for the percentage of petsymptom requests for dogs versus cats, the top five symptoms searchedfor dogs, the top five symptoms searched for cats, the distribution ofnetwork usage type, and the actions that users take when capturingdiagnostic information from and for their pets to take health actionsfor their animals.

Referring to FIG. 8, an example where an application framework may beleveraged to provide a conduit for consumer participation in a socialnetwork is shown. The application framework 801 connects to a socialnetwork 811 via an application programming interface (API) 812 or othersimilar mechanism. The application framework 801 then uses the uniquecapabilities of the particular social network or networks 811 toencourage consumers 800 to communicate in a branded forum.

For example, in the case of Twitter (or other microblogs, posting ormessaging platforms), the use of tagging within Tweets may be used todrive up messages pertaining to an enterprise brand. To accomplish thisthe application framework 801 may provide an interface such as areal-time “chat” within the community features 807 that utilizes auser's Twitter membership to send Tweets that have a particular tag.Thus, any user utilizing the chat features 807 of the applicationframework 801 would in turn be providing an enterprise branding messagewithin the social network Twitter 811. This same method could beutilized on any social network 811 by tailoring the technique to matchthe capabilities of the particular social network.

It is understood that when referring to mobile devices or mobileplatforms, various other types of programmable devices, platforms andapplication frameworks may be utilized by embodiments of the presentinvention, including mobile phones (including iPhone OS based devices,Android OS based devices, Windows mobile devices, Symbian OS and RIM OS,etc.), mobile consumer platforms (including iPod touch, Zune, PSP,Nintendo DS, etc.), tablet devices (including iPad, all Windows tabletedition devices, etc.), televisions (including Samsung SDK capabledevices), “Smart Appliances” (including refrigerators, washing machinesand any other appliances equipped with support for applicationdevelopment), automobiles and other vehicles equipped with support forapplication development, digital billboards and other advertisementbased devices equipped with support for application development, andother programmable devices. FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a frameworkthat may be implemented on a variety of programmable devices includingmobile phones, tablet devices, consumer platforms, televisions, smartappliances, automobiles, and digital billboards.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown anddescribed herein, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art thatsuch embodiments are provided by way of example only. Numerousvariations, changes, and substitutions will now occur to those skilledin the art without departing from the invention. It should be understoodthat various alternatives to the embodiments of the invention describedherein may be employed in practicing the invention. It is intended thatthe following claims define the scope of the invention and that methodsand structures within the scope of these claims and their equivalents becovered thereby.

While this invention has been described and illustrated with referenceto particular embodiments, it will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art that the scope of the invention is not limited to thedisclosed embodiments but, on the contrary, is intended to covernumerous other modifications and equivalent arrangements which areincluded within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

Aspects of the systems and methods described herein may be implementedas functionality programmed into any of a variety of circuitry,including programmable logic devices (PLDs), such as field programmablegate arrays (FPGAs), programmable array logic (PAL) devices,electrically programmable logic and memory devices and standardcell-based devices, as well as application specific integrated circuits(ASICs). Some other possibilities for implementing aspects of thesystems and methods include: microcontrollers with memory, embeddedmicroprocessors, firmware, software, etc. Furthermore, aspects of thesystems and methods may be embodied in microprocessors havingsoftware-based circuit emulation, discrete logic (sequential andcombinatorial), custom devices, fuzzy (neural network) logic, quantumdevices, and hybrids of any of the above device types. Of course theunderlying device technologies may be provided in a variety of componenttypes, e.g., metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET)technologies like complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS),bipolar technologies like emitter-coupled logic (ECL), polymertechnologies (e.g., silicon-conjugated polymer and metal-conjugatedpolymer-metal structures), mixed analog and digital, etc.

It should be noted that the various functions or processes disclosedherein may be described as data and/or instructions embodied in variouscomputer-readable media, in terms of their behavioral, registertransfer, logic component, transistor, layout geometries, and/or othercharacteristics. Computer-readable media in which such formatted dataand/or instructions may be embodied include, but are not limited to,non-volatile storage media in various forms (e.g., optical, magnetic orsemiconductor storage media) and carrier waves that may be used totransfer such formatted data and/or instructions through wireless,optical, or wired signaling media or any combination thereof. Examplesof transfers of such formatted data and/or instructions by carrier wavesinclude, but are not limited to, transfers (uploads, downloads, email,etc.) over the Internet and/or other computer networks via one or moredata transfer protocols (e.g., TCP, UDP, HTTP, FTP, SMTP, etc.). Whenreceived within a computer system via one or more computer-readablemedia, such data and/or instruction-based expressions of componentsand/or processes under the systems and methods may be processed by aprocessing entity (e.g., one or more processors) within the computersystem in conjunction with execution of one or more other computerprograms.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, as apparent from the followingdiscussions, it is appreciated that throughout the specification,discussions utilizing terms such as “processing,” “computing,”“calculating,” “determining,” or the like, may refer in whole or in partto the action and/or processes of a processor, computer or computingsystem, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulate and/ortransform data represented as physical, such as electronic, quantitieswithin the system's registers and/or memories into other data similarlyrepresented as physical quantities within the system's memories,registers or other such information storage, transmission or displaydevices. It will also be appreciated by persons skilled in the art thatthe term “users” referred to herein can be individuals as well ascorporations and other legal entities. Furthermore, the processespresented herein are not inherently related to any particular computer,processing device, article or other apparatus. An example of a structurefor a variety of these systems will appear from the description below.In addition, embodiments of the invention are not described withreference to any particular processor, programming language, machinecode, etc. It will be appreciated that a variety of programminglanguages, machine codes, etc. may be used to implement the teachings ofthe invention as described herein.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout thedescription and the claims, the words ‘comprise,’ ‘comprising,’ and thelike are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to anexclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in a sense of ‘including,but not limited to.’ Words using the singular or plural number alsoinclude the plural or singular number respectively. Additionally, thewords ‘herein,’ ‘hereunder,’ ‘above,’ ‘below,’ and words of similarimport refer to this application as a whole and not to any particularportions of this application. When the word ‘or’ is used in reference toa list of two or more items, that word covers all of the followinginterpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of theitems in the list and any combination of the items in the list.

The above description of illustrated embodiments of the systems andmethods is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the systems andmethods to the precise form disclosed. While specific embodiments of,and examples for, the systems and methods are described herein forillustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possiblewithin the scope of the systems and methods, as those skilled in therelevant art will recognize. The teachings of the systems and methodsprovided herein can be applied to other processing systems and methods,not only for the systems and methods described above.

The elements and acts of the various embodiments described above can becombined to provide further embodiments. These and other changes can bemade to the systems and methods in light of the above detaileddescription.

In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not beconstrued to limit the systems and methods to the specific embodimentsdisclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construedto include all processing systems that operate under the claims.Accordingly, the systems and methods are not limited by the disclosure,but instead the scope of the systems and methods is to be determinedentirely by the claims.

While certain aspects of the systems and methods are presented below incertain claim forms, the inventor contemplates the various aspects ofthe systems and methods in any number of claim forms. Accordingly, theinventor reserves the right to add additional claims after filing theapplication to pursue such additional claim forms for other aspects ofthe systems and methods.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for creating an enterprise brandedmobile application framework for brand extension comprising: anapplication for a plurality of users to access an enterprise brandedmobile application framework through a plurality of mobile devices,wherein the enterprise branded mobile application framework includes anavigation menu for accessing a plurality of pre-defined categories ofbranding features and submenus for providing access to specificfunctions within the pre-defined categories, wherein the pre-definedcategories are assigned for brand extension depending on a targetedindustry segment, wherein the features include featured products,tutorials, games, media, or online shopping, and wherein the targetedindustry segment is education, retail, or television and entertainment;a resource for analyzing usage data of the plurality of users'interactions with the enterprise branded mobile application framework ofthe plurality of mobile devices; and application analytics developingstatistics for the enterprise branded mobile application framework.
 2. Asystem for creating an enterprise branded mobile application frameworkfor brand extension as recited in claim 1 wherein the applicationanalytics aggregates both quantitative and qualitative statistics.
 3. Asystem for creating an enterprise branded mobile application frameworkfor brand extension as recited in claim 1 wherein the plurality ofusers' usage data is an input to the application analytics.
 4. A systemfor creating an enterprise branded mobile application framework forbrand extension as recited in claim 3 wherein the application analyticsfurther has one or more of affiliate data, application sales data andweb troll data as inputs.